Joe Ruby

Writer

The men’s soccer team played to a 2-2 draw against Patriot League rival Holy Cross (3-7-2, 0-2-1 Patriot League) on Saturday in Worcester, Mass. Brendan Burgdorf ’13 and Luke Joyner ’12 scored for the Bison, and Tommy Caso ’12 saved  seven shots in relief of injured starter Marc Hartmann ’12.

Down 1-0 at the beginning of the second half, the Bison quickly got to work. In the 47th minute, Joyner got control of a corner kick and passed to Burgorf, who scored his fourth goal of the year to tie the game.

The Bison struck again to take a 2-1 lead at the 68:46 mark, when CK Kumah ’13 passed the ball deep into the penalty area for Joyner, who netted his  second goal of the year – and second goal in his last three games – to give the Bison the advantage. The goal came moments after Caso saved a Holy Cross penalty shot at the 67:19 mark.

The Bison’s lead did not last. After a Bison foul and subsequent Holy Cross free kick, Crusaders defender Tom Van Grinsven scored with 54 seconds remaining in regulation, assisted by Pat McCann. The Bison were called for 16 fouls in the contest compared to the Crusaders’ three.

Each team managed a shot during 15 minutes of overtime, but both defenses held to finalize the draw.

The Bison got off to a rough start, as Hartmann left the game with an injury just six minutes in, leaving Caso to take his spot in goal. Just over 10 minutes later, Monty Sanders scored the game’s first goal for the Crusaders with a shot from well outside the box.

The teams were even in shots and shots on goal. The Bison managed 15 shots, 11 on goal, and the Crusaders posted 16 shots, 10 of which were on goal. Hartmann saved one shot before leaving the game, and Caso and Holy Cross keeper Evan Polanik saved eight shots each. The Bison held a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks earned for the game.

The Bison (4-6-1, 1-1-1) have two home games scheduled for this upcoming week, hosting Army (1-9-0, 0-3-0) in a Patriot League matchup on Friday at 6 PM and Adelphi (6-5-0) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.